5 overlooked CES announcements that actually matter

Look, we love the big TVs too. The concept cars. The robots that promise to cater to our every whim. Even the ones they probably shouldn’t cater to.

But at the end of the day, a lot of products we see shouted from the rooftops at CES never really change our lives. We go home to our 1080p TVs, our ’99 Toyota Corollas, and our 20-year-old Kenmore refrigerators, and the future seems like it never comes.

That’s not always the case, though. Some of the most consequential CES 2018 announcements get outshined by 146 inches of blazing MicroLEDs, even when they mean big changes for you in the year ahead. Fortunately, we’re here to shine a light on them. These are the products, technologies, and innovations that will change the course of tech in the year ahead.

Alexa is coming to Windows 10

Maybe Microsoft should have seen this one coming. As Alexa popped up in more speakers, fridges, microwaves, and lamps, it was only a matter of time before it showed up on the desktop operating system that a vast majority of the world uses. At CES 2018, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer announced that they will release Alexa-compatible laptops.

If you already live in the Echo ecosystem, this is great news. Your next laptop (or maybe your boring old one, with a software update) now represents yet another way to turn on the lights, turn up the heat, and add profane items to your grocery list. And every Echo will soon represent a new way to interact with your PC. “Hey Alexa, send that spreadsheet I’ve been working on to Andy.” It’s not reality yet, but it could very well happen this year.

As for Cortana, things suddenly look much grimmer now that it faces a more capable AI on its home turf. Like Samsung’s competing Bixby or Hound by SoundHound (it’s a real thing), Cortana might be headed to the same dark AI graveyard where Facebook just laid M to rest.

Nvidia and VW, sitting in a tree

CES 2018 brought no shortage of companies boldly declaring that they would usher in our self-driving pod car future, but Nvidia brought less talk and more silicon. The company that already powers Tesla’s bar-setting Model S this year announced both an insane new chip called Xavier, and a new partnership with Volkswagen that will bring it to the masses.

We’ll spare you the teraflop talk, but Xavier basically compresses the computing power of “a trunk full of PCs” to a package the size of a license plate, which should be enough power to unlock true “level five” autonomous driving. That means steering wheel optional – sit in the back and Instagram your way to work.

Xavier may sound far-fetched, but it’s not: It’s coming this quarter. So while you may want to keep the lease on your Kia for 2018, the chip that will make extreme autonomy possible is here, and we could be seeing some wild cars powered by it in the year ahead.

Intel’s new AMD-powered chips

If you buy a mid-tier laptop today, it probably sucks at gaming. Despite promises from Intel every year that its integrated graphics are about to go legit and let you play modern games, most still struggle with games from even a couple years ago. Until now.

Thanks to an incredibly unlikely partnership with AMD, Intel’s next-gen laptop chips will sport Radeon RX Vega graphics, which rival the real-deal gaming prowess of some of Nvidia’s best GeForce cards. That means you don’t need to buy a neon-accented “gaming laptop” just to play some Civ VI in your hotel room.

I’ll let gaming editor Matt Smith spell out all the compelling implications, but for anyone planning to purchase a new laptop this year, this is spectacular news. Even if you don’t buy high-end, the next breed of processors are going to make it a much more capable machine.

Qualcomm QC5100

Booooring. Go ahead, get it out of your system. We’ll concede that silicon ranks up there with advanced calculus on the “fun to discuss at parties” scale, but Qualcomm’s newest Bluetooth chip is going to unlock some radical devices you will almost certainly want to buy this year.

Here’s the sad truth: Almost all truly wireless earbuds suck right now. Go back and read any of our reviews, and we consistently harp on the same caveats: Battery life is abysmal, and they’re way too finicky and hard to pair.

Qualcomm promises to solve both of these issues with the QC5100, a tiny chip that shrinks all the essential processing for a pair of Bluetooth ‘buds down into one miniscule package. It’s three times faster than previous versions thanks to three cores instead of one, uses 65 percent less juice, and it’s compatible with Bluetooth 5, which means a step forward in range, reliability, and sound quality thanks to the gold-standard AptX HD.

All that processing power also means the chip can enable features like advanced noise cancellation, gesture control, fitness tracking, and all the other bells and whistles you’ll demand out of a pair of $200 earbuds. Look for devices powered by this beast arriving on shelves mid-2018.

Huawei is barging into the U.S. one way or another

Poor Huawei. After trying to crack into the American phone market for years, and finally getting a big break when AT&T agreed to begin carrying its phones, Huawei got some bad news at CES.

AT&T backed out.

Due to some apparent behind-the-scenes political bullying, Huawei phones will not be showing up at your local AT&T store anytime soon. Locked out at the front door, Huawei could have given up on its dreams of American conquest, but that’s not how the $20 billion telecom giant plays. Instead, it’s breaking a window and going in the side.

On Tuesday, Huawei announced that it will begin selling the Mate 10 Pro in the U.S. for $800 in February, through big-name retailers including Best Buy, Microsoft stores, Newegg, B&H Photo, and of course, Amazon. Each of them will give away $150 gift cards with the phones, which reduces the effective price to a more tempting $650.

That means the Mate 10 Pro we raved about in November is a lot easier and cheaper to get in 2018, if you live in the States. And we’re hoping it’s just the beginning of Huawei’s American offensive. How about some deals on the Honor View 10 and Honor 7X, Huawei? If this builder of some of our favorite budget phones can establish a foothold in the U.S., we’ll all be a lot better off for it. And so will our wallets.

Editors’ Recommendations

• It’s almost here! Here’s the best of what’s coming at CES 2018
• 5 tech trends you’ll be talking about in 2018
• Best Qualcomm-powered laptops of CES 2018
• Amazon’s Alexa assistant looks to smarten up select 2018 Hisense TVs
• How to watch Nvidia’s CES 2018 press conference

Huawei’s letting the $800 Mate 10 Pro speak for itself in U.S. release

Huawei will launch its impressive Mate 10 Pro smartphone in the United States in February, and at the same time it will embark on a costly and ambitious promotional campaign to introduce the company to Americans, a task in which it will be assisted by Wonder Woman herself. However, contrary to rumors leading up to the announcement, Huawei will not be joining arms with a carrier in the U.S. At least, not for now.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro, a flagship phone with dual-lens Leica-tuned cameras, onboard artificial intelligence features, a beautiful screen and a sleek design, will cost $800. It’s set to be sold through Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft stores, Newegg, and B&H Photo from February 4, when it goes up for pre-order. The device will ship and be available in stores from February 18. As an incentive to buy the Mate 10 Pro, each retailer will give buyers a $150 promotional gift card to spend with them, effectively reducing the cost to $650.

In addition to the regular Mate 10 Pro, which will come in blue and titanium gray, the Porsche Design Mate 10 Pro will also arrive in the United States. It has an all-black color scheme, 256GB of internal memory, custom Porsche Design wallpapers and more. The desirable special edition and its predecessor were only sold outside the U.S., so it’s a pleasant surprise to see it join the standard model. The Porsche Design Mate 10 Pro has already proven very popular in China since the launch, where demand saw it surpass the Apple iPhone X as one of the most expensive phones available to buy. In the U.S. it will be sold through the same stores as the Mate 10 Pro, plus Porsche Design’s own store, for $1,125 from February 18.

“The best phone you’ve never heard of,” is the main message Huawei will try to convey through its massive campaign to promote the Mate 10 Pro. You’ll see this slogan, along with others that play on Huawei’s hard-to-pronounce name, online, in print, on the radio, and on billboards throughout the coming year.

Huawei SVP of Marketing Ketrina Dunagan told Digital Trends the intention is for people to “get to know us through our products,” and described the new ads and associated marketing as being, “on a scale that’s beyond anything we have done before.”

Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot has joined the Huawei team as an ‘experience officer,’ on the basis of not only having been a fan of the brand for some time, but also because people routinely mispronounce her name. For Huawei, it’s using the slogan “Wow Way” to help educate people on how to say Huawei. It’s not actually pronounced “Wow way,” making this an unusual tactic — for reference, it’s more like Hu-ah-way — which Dunagan said helps, “bridge the gap between an easy-to-understand phrase and the correct way to say the name.”

What about the rumoured AT&T deal that apparently fell apart at the last minute? Huawei said it was familiar with the complexity of making deals with carriers, having made so many around the world, and that they took time. For now, it has mutually decided to use open channels — regular stores, rather than carriers — to sell the Mate 10 Pro in the United States. Why? Dunagan said, “Brand awareness comes first,” and that Americans need to know and trust the brand before making a purchase, whether it’s in a store or through a network. However, she added that we should, “stay tuned,” about carrier deals.

The statement is contradictory to what Richard Yu, chief executive officer of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said at the CES 2018 Keynote.

“I think it’s a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but more bigger loss for consumers because consumers don’t get the best choice in the market,” Yu said to an applause.

Yu went on to talk about how Huawei has won over the support of Chinese carriers, and other carriers around the world in places like Europe and Japan.

“The last 30 years, we’ve proved our quality, we’ve proved our superiority, privacy, protection, we’ve proved our good quality, good innovation and the leading technology innovator. It’s proved. Huawei, we’re a company with a spirit of working hard and dedicated employees. … We will win the trust of global consumers.”

The Mate 10 Pro is probably the best phone Huawei has ever made, and one of the very best of 2017. Dunagan is very positive about the effect it could have. “This is the moment when we’re going to bring a globally leading product to the United States,” she said, fully aware of the Mate 10 Pro’s ability to impress. However, the firm has considerable work to do surrounding brand recognition and acceptance.

In the U.K., Huawei told us it has around 80-percent brand recognition, and a carrier partner in the U.S. to go along with its quirky ads and Wonder Woman, would have vastly improved its chances of changing that. Outside of this, we think the Mate 10 Pro is worth your money with or without any carrier deal.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Huawei says AT&T won’t carry its phones, reportedly due to security issues
• Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 hands-on review
• The most expensive, in-demand phone in China right now isn’t the iPhone X
• Huawei Mate 10 vs. Mate 10 Pro: Battle to be your new best mate
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro vs. Google Pixel 2 XL: Can Huawei top the Android powerhouse?

Dell XPS 13 vs. Asus ZenBook 13: Two thin and light 13-inch notebooks face off

After quite some time with a rather stagnant design, Dell finally updated its excellent XPS 13 with a new aesthetic and some advanced materials, which promises to make one of our favorite notebooks even better. At the same time, Asus has introduced a new 13-inch notebook of its own, the ZenBook 13, which ups the graphics power by packing a discrete Nvidia GPU into its thin frame.

Both machines sound like they offer some nice capabilities for anyone who just needs a notebook without any 2-in-1 flexibility. We compare the Dell XPS 13 vs Asus ZenBook 13 to see which portable and powerful notebook is the right one for you.

Design

Dell’s XPS 13 has always sported a thin and very robust design, with aluminum providing rigidity to the chassis and strong carbon fiber lining keyboard deck for a comfortable experience. The updated model maintains the same basic design in its black variant, but it has been chiseled down to be even thinner (0.46 inches at its thickest point) and lighter (2.67 pounds). There is also a new version with a Rose Gold aluminum lid and Alpine White keyboard deck that is made with a special glass fiber material specially designed for Dell. In addition, Dell commissioned a Gore Thermal Insulation material that promises to move hot air out of the chassis more efficiently to keep performance up. It’s a high-tech design that looks great — and we love it.

The Asus ZenBook 13 is a more traditionally designed machine, with an all-metal chassis that should be solid and robust if it follows the company’s general practices. It’s a good looking notebook, with royal blue and slate gray color schemes and the iconic Asus spun-metal design. Asus refers to the ZenBook 13 as enjoying a “luxurious crystal-like gloss coating” and uses a non-imprinted lithography process to achieve it. The ZenBook line is generally full of good-looking notebooks and the newest member follows the trend — while creating a very thin and light notebook at 0.55 inches and 2.17 pounds.

We can’t fault Asus for going with a more tried-and-true design with the ZenBook 13. At the same time, we have to give some kudos to Dell for incorporating some nice technologies in refreshing the XPS 13’s look and feel.

Winner: Dell XPS 13

Performance

Dell made some real changes to the XPS 13’s chassis in the newest version, but it kept the brains of the machine largely intact. The company recently refreshed the line with Intel’s quad-core eighth-generation Core i5 and i7 processors, and those components remain the same this time around. That is coupled with up to 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). In our experience, that means you get solid productivity performance and even some extra power for things like encoding video.

For its part, Asus has pumped up the power in the ZenBook 13, particularly for such a thin and light machine. While the notebook also uses the eighth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB SSD, it also manages to squeeze in a bona fide discrete Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU. That’s not the fast GPU available, and it’s only good for gaming at 1080p and low graphics detail, but it’s a real boon for anyone who needs to perform video editing and other challenging tasks.

We were impressed with Intel’s latest 15-watt CPUs for their great performance and enhanced efficiency. The XPS 13 will, therefore, perform well for any productivity worker. But the ZenBook 13 will provide significantly better graphics performance and takes the win in this category.

Winner: Asus ZenBook 13

Keyboard, mouse, and pen

The XPS 13’s keyboard has long been comfortable to type on, with decent travel and snappy response. We don’t expect that to change in the new version. Dell’s touchpad is also excellent, with Windows Precision Touchpad support for reliable gesture support. For more convenient security, Windows 10 Hello support is provided by a fingerprint scanner on the keyboard deck. Finally, the XPS 13 has a touchscreen option for those times when you just want to tap a button or scroll a web page.

Similarly, the ZenBook line has generally managed to fit a responsive keyboard into thin chassis, and the ZenBook 13’s version is likely to be just as good. Asus also opts for Windows Precision Touchpad support, promising the same quality experience when mousing and gesturing in Windows 10. The notebook also uses a fingerprint scanner, also located on the keyboard deck, for Windows 10 Hello. Finally, the notebook also sports a touch display for convenience.

There is nothing to separate these two thin and light notebooks in terms of getting information into them. Both will likely provide great experiences and so we have to call this category even.

Winner: Tie

Connectivity

Dell had to trim the port selection on the much-thinner 2018 version of the XPS 13, dropping the USB-A ports that adorned the previous models. Now, there are two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3, one USB-C 3.1 port, and a microSD card slot. That means that you’re covered for future connectivity, but you need dongles to plug in your older peripherals. Of course, there is the usual 2×2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios to keep you connected wirelessly.

The ZenBook 13 manages to retain two USB-A 3.0 ports and an HDMI connection for legacy support, and it adds a USB-C 3.1 port to connect to newer devices. It’s not a Thunderbolt 3 port, however, which means its capabilities will be more limited. There is also a microSD card reader and the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

We like that the ZenBook 13 supports legacy devices out of the box, but the lack of Thunderbolt 3 support is disappointing. You need dongles with the XPS 13, but you will appreciate the faster connection down the road.

Winner: Dell XPS 13

Display

Dell seriously upped the ante with the newest XPS 13’s display options, switching from a 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800 or 276PPI) panel to a full 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160 or 331PPI) option. And it looks like Dell is pulling down the quality from the great display on the older XPS 15, with the smaller model now sporting the same 100 percent sRGB color gamut and 1500:1 contrast ratio. There’s also a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 or 165 PPI) display available for anyone who values cost and battery life over the ultimate in display quality.

Asus is also offering a 13.3-inch 4K UHD display to go with a lesser Full HD option, and in our experience, their displays are usually right around average in terms of color support and contrast. That is not a bad thing, as today’s “average” display is significantly better than good displays of just a few years ago.

This is one area where the Dell is likely to offer a significantly better experience. If great colors and high contrast are important to you, then the XPS 13 is likely to be the better option.

Winner: Dell XPS 13

Portability and battery life

Another area where Dell needed to cut in order to fit into the thinner chassis is battery capacity. The old model packed in 60 watt-hours of battery, and the new model drops down to 52 watt-hours. That’s not terrible, but it’s likely to have a significant impact particularly with the increase a 4K display. Dell is promising up to 19 hours and 46 minutes of battery life, and certainly, the new eighth-generation Intel processors are more efficient, but you’re likely to see less than that and only with a Core i5 and Full HD display.

Asus is more conservative with its own battery life estimates for the ZenBook 13, promising “only” 14 hours. The machine has 50 watt-hours of battery capacity, which is just slightly less than the Dell. However, the ZenBook 13 does include a more powerful GPU, which will burn more battery life whenever it’s utilized. That’s optional, however.

We don’t think it’s fair to penalize Asus for giving the option of burning more battery power. These two look close enough that we’ll have to wait to review them to award a real winner.

Winner: Tie

Availability and price

The new XPS 13 starts out at $1,000 for a Core i5-8250U CPU, 4GB of RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD, and Full HD non-touch display. That is a $100 jump from the older model, and the new configurations ramp up to a significant $2,050 for a Core i7-8550U, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and 4K UHD touch display. That means that the XPS 13 doesn’t offer quite the budget configuration any longer and is now a solidly premium notebook.

Asus has not yet announced pricing on the ZenBook 13, and so we can’t make a direct comparison. And it is hard to predict how the machine will be priced because Asus has offered some machines that we’ve thought were very well priced for the design and configuration, and some that we’ve thought are priced a little too high.

Winner: To be determined

Dell takes the prize for pushing the technology envelope

Dell took a machine that we’ve been calling the best 13-inch notebook and made it better. It’s thinner, lighter, faster, and uses some fairly exotic materials to made it sturdier and perform better. Asus has made a nice-looking notebook in the ZenBook 13 and it packs in a nice GPU, but otherwise, it’s a fairly traditional offering.

We do like our technology, and so we’re going to give the victory in this comparison to the Dell XPS 13. But we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Asus ZenBook 13 if you really need some extra graphics power.

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP Spectre 13 (2017) review
• Dell XPS 13 Review
• Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 review
• HP Spectre x360 13 (Late 2017) Review
• Asus shows off Zenbook 13 with up to 15 hours of battery life and Nvidia graphics

Livermorium’s new Moto Mod will bring back BlackBerry-style physical keyboard

There are a number of Moto Mods on sale and in development that can transform your Moto Z into a speaker, dedicated camera, projector, barcode scanner, and even a mouse. But what about a BlackBerry? As part of Motorola’s “Transform the Smartphone” Indiegogo challenge, one team of engineers has been working on a product that will return a feature missed by many back to a flagship smartphone — a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

The mod, designed by a company called Livermorium, was shown off at CES 2018, where Motorola said it’ll cost $99 and be available in winter. The five-row keyboard boasts curvy, generously spaced keys with multiple functions, LED backlighting, and directional buttons for Android navigation. The Teflon-coated sliding mechanism can also push the phone upward and away at up to a 60-degree angle to the keyboard, like HTC’s old Tilt devices use to do.

Indiegogo

Livermorium had originally hoped to also stuff a 1,750mAh external battery into the Mod, essentially giving the Moto Z it’s connected to a ton of extra juice. Livermorium made no mention of an external battery at CES, so it doesn’t seem as though the final version of the keyboard has one on offer. That means that the Mod may actually end up drawing power from the phone, though it hopefully wouldn’t need much.

The Livermorium keyboard was the grand winner of Lenovo’s “Transform the Smartphone” challenge, but there were some other pretty cool entrants, too. One such entrant, called Inhale, gives the Moto Z the ability to test air quality and tell you if you’re being exposed to polluted air.

Lenovo and Vital have also partnered on a new Mod that can be used to track five vital signs in only a few minutes. The Mod comes in at $395, and while it probably isn’t aimed at everyone, it could prove to be very useful to those who need to keep a close eye on their vitals. Among noteworthy features is the ability to test blood pressure with a finger cuff, rather than the traditional band-style arm cuff.

Update: The Livermorium Moto Mod will be available soon for $99.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Vital Inc.’s new Moto Mod measures five vital signs in a matter of two minutes
• Moto X4 review
• Moto Mod with Amazon Alexa review
• Prints photos in seconds with the Polaroid Insta-Share Printer Moto Mod
• When is your phone getting Android 8.0 Oreo? We asked every major manufacturer

Halos’ smart hard drive lets your digital life live outside the cloud

Even the best hard drives aren’t particularly sexy, which makes it difficult for a company like Halos to make a splash at CES. They say beauty has always been in the eye of the beholder, though, and when you have a features like those unique to the company’s forthcoming CatDrive, you can be sure someone is going to pay attention.

The device, one of many Indiegogo success stories on display at CES, is designed to simplify your digital life. It’s essentially a storage device that plugs directly into your home router, and allows you to easily upload all your content — photos, videos, etc. — to a centralized location. The shockproof, 1TB drive is then accessible from anywhere using an accompanying mobile app, assuming you have a valid internet connection, giving you a quick means for syncing and sharing content across a network of devices. Best of all, unlike Google Drive and many other cloud-storage alternatives, there’s no additional fee associated with Halos’ offering.

Centralized storage is nothing newer, however, which is why Halos decided to outfit the CatDrive with a wealth of additional features. You can quickly set up the drive to automatically back up content from your iOS or Android device, for instance, or create a private account for each member of your family, ensuring their content is kept from prying eyes. Other features, namely the device’s robust search capabilities, come standard.

The CatDrive is currently available for pre-order and will retail for $99 when it officially launches at the end of January.

The 10 most interesting products at CES this year

The Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing. With our editors on the ground floor, Digital Trends has a front row seat to some of the coolest tech of the future.

Take a look at our live CES coverage to be a part of the action, or read on to discover some of our favorite highlights from the show.

Learn More

The 10 most interesting products at CES this year

The Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing. With our editors on the ground floor, Digital Trends has a front row seat to some of the coolest tech of the future.

Take a look at our live CES coverage to be a part of the action, or read on to discover some of our favorite highlights from the show.

Learn More

YouTube apologizes for Logan Paul, sort of

There may or may not be further consequences for Logan Paul, but his video is gone forever.

One of the big things missing from the mess caused by YouTuber Logan Paul uploading a video of a suicide was an actual statement from YouTube on the subject. The original video was pulled from YouTube the same day it was published, but it was re-uploaded hundreds of times and continued to cause problems throughout the week. Still, no official statement from the company on what would be happening to stop this kind of thing from happening again.

Today YouTube addressed the situation through five tweets promising potential action. Eventually.

An open letter to our community: Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You’re right to be. You deserve to know what’s going on.

— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018

In its open letter, YouTube made it clear it was listening to the YouTube community and working on solutions internally. Among those solutions is a way to prevent the suicide video or other like it from ever making its way to YouTube. The company also claims to be looking at further consequences for Logan Paul. As a result of violating the terms of service, Paul’s account will have earned a “strike” against its ability to monetize videos. Multiple strikes results in monetization being deactivated or the account being banned, but it’s not clear this is what YouTube has in mind if further action is taken.

Preventing violent videos from hitting YouTube has been a “priority” for the company for quite a while now, and success has clearly been limited. If new steps to block this kind of content are announced officially, it will be interesting to see how effective it truly is.

Read more: How to unsubscribe from a YouTube channel

Huawei Mate 10 Pro coming to the U.S. in Feb, but carrier deal is dead

The Mate 10 Pro is Huawei’s best phone ever, and it’s coming to the U.S. in February — but not in the way Huawei wants.

Instead of the U.S. market coming-out party that was expected, CES 2018 has mired Huawei’s handset business in bad news and controversy.

As we reported yesterday, Huawei was ready to announce that it had entered into a deal with number-two U.S. carrier AT&T for a distribution deal across the country but, according to The Information, those plans were stymied after the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees applied raised concerns about connections to China’s Communist Party. And based on sources close to Android Police, an impending deal with Verizon is being similarly scrutinized.

As Huawei reels from yet another failed attempt to enter the lucrative and all-important U.S. carrier market, there is some good news to report: the Mate 10 Pro, the company’s flagship handset released in Asia and Europe in late 2017, will make its way to the U.S., but it will be relegated to the open unlocked market.

The Mate 10 Pro is coming to the U.S., but this can’t be seen as anything other than a failture for Huawei.

Starting February 4, people can pre-order the unlocked Mate 10 Pro through Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, Newegg, and B&H for $799. But as long as the phone is ordered within the pre-order time frame, February 4 to 17 (it goes on sale February 18), customers will get a $150 gift card to that particular store, dropping the price down to a more manageable $650.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro specs

Still, on paper, the phone is $200 more expensive than the Mate 9 when it debuted this time last year, and it’s still limited to GSM-based carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and MetroPCS, which precludes its use on Verizon and Sprint.

And while Huawei has committed to a multi-million dollar awareness campaign — if you’re in the U.S., you may have seen the banners on this website advertising “the best phone you’ve never heard of” — and a partnership with movie star Gal Gadot, nearly 90% of Americans still purchase their phones through carrier channels, significantly limiting the Mate 10 Pro’s potential impact on the high-end market.

Huawei hopes that the awareness campaign, which includes large banners in populous cities like New York explaining how to pronounce the company’s name (it’s “wow way”), along with appointing Gal Gadot Chief Experience Officer, will give the company a boost that it lacked in 2017, despite a lack of carrier support. It appears Huawei will have to get used to this challenge, as it’s unlikely the current U.S. administration would support future products being sold by the providers.

The company also plans to sell a Porsche Design version of the Mate 10 Pro for $1225 USD through similar open channels —
Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, and the Porsche Design store — which looks similar to the main version but features a “unique front and back cover design… entirely encased in elegant yet robust glass and comes in a luxurious and exclusive Diamond Black color.”

As for the Mate 10 Pro itself, it will be available in three colors, Midnight Blue, Titanium Grey and Mocha Brown and goes on sale February 18.

See at Huawei

Huawei Mate 10

• Huawei Mate 10 Pro review
• Huawei Mate 10 series specs
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro U.S. review: Close to greatness
• Join the discussion in the forums
• More on 2016’s Mate 9

Verizon might also back away from carrying Huawei Mate 10 Pro

This just keeps getting worse.

All the way back in November, rumors first started to pop up that Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro would be the first phone from the company to launch on a United States carrier. AT&T was later confirmed to be one of the networks that’d support and sell the Mate 10 Pro, but earlier this week, those plans were squashed.

Shortly after Huwawei confirmed that AT&T was no longer going to be offering the Mate 10 Pro, sources that have spoken with Android Police say that Verizon is facing similar pressure to do the same thing.

Verizon was reportedly going to start selling the phone this summer but then pushed this back to a launch in the fall. Now, the carrier is being encouraged to drop the Mate 10 Pro altogether with claims coming from the Senate and House of Representatives that Huawei poses a security threat.

Launching the Mate 10 Pro on AT&T was supposed to be the big push into U.S. markets that Huawei needed, but if this turns out to be true and the company loses support from both it and Verizon, we might never seen a Huawei phone sold by a carrier in the country.

Huawei Mate 10

• Huawei Mate 10 Pro review
• Huawei Mate 10 series specs
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro U.S. review: Close to greatness
• Join the discussion in the forums
• More on 2016’s Mate 9